How many more?: Small wins for our regions who deserve so much more

The Minns government has announced further details of its Staying Home Leaving Violence program to be rolled out across all regional areas off the back of ACM's campaign How Many More.

However, at this stage, they have not committed to targeted funding in the regions when it comes to domestic and family violence.

This is despite the fact the situation is significantly worse in regional NSW.

Currently, 70 per cent of NSW regional council areas do not have access to Staying Home Leaving Violence program. Under this announcement this will change.

The aim of the program is to prevent a victim becoming homeless or having to move away from support system of family and friends, and the school and community where you live.

The new locations include six in the Riverina (Carrathool, Lockhart, Snowy Valley, Coolamon, Cootamundra and Temora), four in the Far West (Bourke, Bogan, Warren and Cobar), Murray (Balranald, Berrigan, Edward River and Murray River) and Capital region (Goulburn Mulwaree, Hilltops, Upper Lachlan and Yass Valley), three in the Central West (Bland, Central Darling and Oberon), two in New England (Uralla and Gwydir) and one each in the Grafton-Coffs Harbour (Clarence Valley) and the Southern Highlands regions (Wingecarribee).

NSW Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Jodie Harrison told ACM she was committed to "achieving appropriate, ongoing, wraparound support for victim-survivors, no matter their postcode".

She described the extension of the Staying Home Leaving Violence program as the "first phase" of the government's response to the regions.

Ms Harrison did not commit to any of the specific objectives of ACM's week-long 'How Many More' campaign.

These include targeted funding in regional areas when it comes to housing and frontline workers, factoring in the added costs in funding models to delivering services in the regions and rolling out an education campaign through local community and sporting clubs.

Chief Executive Officer of Women's Community Shelters (WCS) Annabelle Daniel welcomed the further detail in Staying Home Leaving Violence program but said "investment in all stages of the housing pipeline" was needed.

Domestic Violence NSW CEO Delia Donovan said more simply needed to be done in regional NSW.

"Services are buckling under the pressure and that pressure is now on the NSW Government to offer relief in their upcoming budget," she said.

Here's the simple fact: in regional NSW domestic and family violence is an epidemic.

The regional rate for domestic violence assaults is an alarming 30 per cent above the NSW average while the Sydney rate is 20 per cent below the state average.

The top 47 local government areas (out of 120) for domestic violence are in regional NSW.

Walgett, Broken Hill, Moree Plains, Coonamble, Lachlan, Muswellbrook, Dubbo, Narromine, Kempsey and Inverell make up the top ten worst local government areas for domestic violence.

ACM has asked the state government why the regions were not prioritised when it came to funding for domestic and family violence, with no response.

The most pressing issue in regional NSW is emergency housing.

In some areas the situation is so dire that women are being housed in tents and car parks.

In small towns there is nowhere to hide. In western NSW the wait time can be up to six months for a place in a refuge.

The "housing crunch" means that finding an affordable rental for women fleeing a violent relationship is near impossible.

Frontline workers told ACM they were stretched and decried funding models which didn't factor in the added expense of providing a service in the regions.

Small remote communities like Walgett are at breaking point. A toxic mix of high alcohol and drug abuse, lack of education, poor health outcomes, high crime rates and incarceration and a lack of housing and employment opportunities exacerbate the problem.

"All of this is intertwined with domestic violence," said Walgett's first female mayor Jane Keir. "We got left behind 30 years ago."

NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman acknowledged the "growing gulf between the regions and our cities" and told ACM more needed to be done to addressing this "alarming difference".

"The Premier needs to be upfront about service delivery and assure the community that regional programs won't be impacted by his Budget cuts," he said.

He also identified electronic monitoring for serious domestic violence offenders as a must in the regions where police support might not be immediately available.

NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders told ACM there was "significant work" to do in this space.

"The former Coalition Government started by investing more than $426 million to build 39 new refuges, with 20 of those to be in regional NSW," he said.

"It was the largest single capital investment in domestic and family violence in NSW Government history and would be supporting an additional 2,900 women and children each year.

"There needs to be more transparency from the Minns Labor Government around where these new shelters are up to, and more importantly we need to get them off the ground as soon as possible."

First term Nationals MP Michael Kemp, whose electorate covers Kempsey, one of the worst areas in the state, called for targeted services.

"Regional New South Wales has the worst statistics and it is time the Minns Government puts forward an approach to help our rural and regional families," he said.

Independent member for Barwon Roy Butler, whose electorate encompasses Walgett and Broken Hill, agreed "targeted funding" was needed.

The former cop also advocated for further funding for men's behavioural change intervention programs.

In the nation's Parliament, responsible ministers say existing measures are reaching regional Australians.

Housing Minister Julie Collins pointed to a range of existing measures which she says will guarantee "more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home".

Among them was a pre-budget commitment of $1 billion targeted at crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence, and housing for youth.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said that "a number of our investments are about specifically targeting the regions," referencing 500 frontline domestic and family violence workers in the October 2022 budget.

"One of the conditions was that around half those workers, actually went to rural, regional and remote areas, recognizing the extra need that they do have," she said.

But the move has faced scrutiny, after it was revealed only a fraction of the promised staff had been hired as of May.

Ms Rishworth highlighted the expansion of a national program to provide financial support worth $5000 to victim-survivors from mid-2025.

It is expected to reach roughly 36,700 people each year. But the ministers have not indicated any new announcements for regional Australians in the pipeline.

Pat Conaghan said a "broken" system has left regional Australians behind.

Mr Conaghan, who represents the NSW electorate of Cowper, welcomed the Labor government's investment in crisis housing but argued a lack of focus on prevention and intervention is failing Australians across the board.

"We forgot to concentrate [on] prevention and intervention and until we actually address the root cause, which is men's behavioural problems, then this isn't going to go away. Community organisations must be given agency and funding to deliver preventative education programs.

"What works in my hometown of Kempsey won't work in Broome and won't work in Katherine. You have to deliver it per the needs of the community and the way that community works."

The week of ACM's campaign started with the news of a little boy, just two-years-old, murdered by his father in an apparent murder-suicide in Lismore in the NSW northern rivers.

His mother Sophie Roome had an Apprehended Violence Order against her partner James Harrison but this did not protect her family. Harrison was granted unsupervised access to his son.

"There are no possible excuses for this hurt, and no end to the pain it has caused," Dr Roome said in a statement on May 22 that laid bare her grief.

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin said her government had to do more to support families in need. "There are services available, but it's not easy. We've got to make it easier," she said.

This is not a one-week campaign. Given the scale and complexity of the issue in regional Australia we'll be continuing our fight.

It's above politics. It is life or death.

NSW minister for the prevention of domestic violence Jodie Harrison is right. Your postcode shouldn't determine whether you are safe.

Now our politicians need to prove it.